Vim documentation: tabpage

*tabpage.txt* For Vim version 7.3. Last change: 2010 Jul 31
VIM REFERENCE MANUAL by BramMoolenaar
Editing with windows in multiple tab pages. *tab-page* *tabpage*
The commands which have been added to use multiple tab pages are explained
here. Additionally, there are explanations for commands that work differently
when used in combination with more than one tab page.
1. Introduction |tab-page-intro|
2. Commands |tab-page-commands|
3. Other items |tab-page-other|
4. Setting 'tabline' |setting-tabline|
5. Setting 'guitablabel' |setting-guitablabel|
{Vi does not have any of these commands}
{not able to use multiple tab pages when the |+windows| feature was disabled
at compile time}
==============================================================================
1. Introduction *tab-page-intro*
A tab page holds one or more windows. You can easily switch between tab
pages, so that you have several collections of windows to work on different
things.
Usually you will see a list of labels at the top of the Vim window, one for
each tab page. With the mouse you can click on the label to jump to that tab
page. There are other ways to move between tab pages, see below.
Most commands work only in the current tab page. That includes the |CTRL-W|
commands, |:windo|, |:all| and |:ball| (when not using the |:tab| modifier).
The commands that are aware of other tab pages than the current one are
mentioned below.
Tabs are also a nice way to edit a buffer temporarily without changing the
current window layout. Open a new tab page, do whatever you want to do and
close the tab page.
==============================================================================
2. Commands *tab-page-commands*
OPENING A NEW TAB PAGE:
When starting Vim "vim -p filename ..." opens each file argument in a separate
tab page (up to 'tabpagemax'). See |-p|
A double click with the mouse in the non-GUI tab pages line opens a new, empty
tab page. It is placed left of the position of the click. The first click
may select another tab page first, causing an extra screen update.
This also works in a few GUI versions, esp. Win32 and Motif. But only when
clicking right of the labels.
In the GUItab pages line you can use the right mouse button to open menu.
|tabline-menu|.
:[count]tabe[dit] *:tabe* *:tabedit* *:tabnew*
:[count]tabnew
Open a new tab page with an empty window, after the current
tab page. For [count] see |:tab| below.
:[count]tabe[dit] [++opt][+cmd]{file}
:[count]tabnew [++opt][+cmd]{file}
Open a new tab page and edit {file}, like with |:edit|.
For [count] see |:tab| below.
:[count]tabf[ind] [++opt][+cmd]{file} *:tabf* *:tabfind*
Open a new tab page and edit {file} in 'path', like with
|:find|. For [count] see |:tab| below.
{not available when the |+file_in_path| feature was disabled
at compile time}
:[count]tab {cmd} *:tab*
Execute {cmd} and when it opens a new window open a new tab
page instead. Doesn't work for |:diffsplit|, |:diffpatch|,
|:execute| and |:normal|.
When [count] is omitted the tab page appears after the current
one.
When [count] is specified the new tab page comes after tab
page [count]. Use ":0tab cmd" to get the new tab page as the
first one.
Examples:
:tab split " opens current buffer in new tab page :tab help gt " opens tab page with help for "gt"CTRL-Wgf Open a new tab page and edit the file name under the cursor.
See |CTRL-W_gf|.
CTRL-WgF Open a new tab page and edit the file name under the cursor
and jump to the line number following the file name.
See |CTRL-W_gF|.
CLOSING A TAB PAGE:
Closing the last window of a tab page closes the tab page too, unless there is
only one tab page.
Using the mouse: If the tab page line is displayed you can click in the "X" at
the top right to close the current tab page. A custom |'tabline'| may show
something else.
*:tabc* *:tabclose*
:tabc[lose][!] Close current tab page.
This command fails when:
- There is only one tab page on the screen. *E784*
- When 'hidden' is not set, [!] is not used, a buffer has
changes, and there is no other window on this buffer.
Changes to the buffer are not written and won't get lost, so
this is a "safe" command.
:tabc[lose][!] {count}
Close tab page {count}. Fails in the same way as ':tabclose"
above.
*:tabo* *:tabonly*
:tabo[nly][!] Close all other tab pages.
When the 'hidden' option is set, all buffers in closed windows
become hidden.
When 'hidden' is not set, and the 'autowrite' option is set,
modified buffers are written. Otherwise, windows that have
buffers that are modified are not removed, unless the [!] is
given, then they become hidden. But modified buffers are
never abandoned, so changes cannot get lost.
SWITCHING TO ANOTHER TAB PAGE:
Using the mouse: If the tab page line is displayed you can click in a tab page
label to switch to that tab page. Click where there is no label to go to the
next tab page. |'tabline'|
:tabn[ext] *:tabn* *:tabnext* *gt*
<C-PageDown> *CTRL-<PageDown>* *<C-PageDown>*
gt *i_CTRL-<PageDown>* *i_<C-PageDown>*
Go to the next tab page. Wraps around from the last to the
first one.
:tabn[ext] {count}
{count}<C-PageDown>
{count}gt Go to tab page {count}. The first tab page has number one.
:tabp[revious] *:tabp* *:tabprevious* *gT* *:tabN*
:tabN[ext] *:tabNext* *CTRL-<PageUp>*
<C-PageUp> *<C-PageUp>* *i_CTRL-<PageUp>* *i_<C-PageUp>*
gT Go to the previous tab page. Wraps around from the first one
to the last one.
:tabp[revious] {count}
:tabN[ext] {count}
{count}<C-PageUp>
{count}gT Go {count} tab pages back. Wraps around from the first one
to the last one.
:tabr[ewind] *:tabfir* *:tabfirst* *:tabr* *:tabrewind*
:tabfir[st] Go to the first tab page.
*:tabl* *:tablast*
:tabl[ast] Go to the last tab page.
Other commands:
*:tabs*
:tabsList the tab pages and the windows they contain.
Shows a ">" for the current window.
Shows a "+" for modified buffers.
REORDERING TAB PAGES:
:tabm[ove] [N] *:tabm* *:tabmove*
Move the current tab page to after tab page N. Use zero to
make the current tab page the first one. Without N the tab
page is made the last one.
LOOPING OVER TAB PAGES:
*:tabd* *:tabdo*
:tabd[o] {cmd} Execute {cmd} in each tab page.
It works like doing this:
:tabfirst :{cmd} :tabnext :{cmd} etc.
This only operates in the current window of each tab page.
When an error is detected on one tab page, further tab pages
will not be visited.
The last tab page (or where an error occurred) becomes the
current tab page.
{cmd} can contain '|' to concatenate several commands.
{cmd} must not open or close tab pages or reorder them.
{not in Vi} {not available when compiled without the
|+listcmds| feature}
Also see |:windo|, |:argdo| and |:bufdo|.
==============================================================================
3. Other items *tab-page-other*
*tabline-menu*
The GUItab pages line has a popup menu. It is accessed with a right click.
The entries are:
Close Close the tab page under the mouse pointer. The
current one if there is no label under the mouse
pointer.
New Tab Open a tab page, editing an empty buffer. It appears
to the left of the mouse pointer.
Open Tab... Like "New Tab" and additionally use a file selector to
select a file to edit.
Diff mode works per tab page. You can see the diffs between several files
within one tab page. Other tab pages can show differences between other
files.
Variables local to a tab page start with "t:". |tabpage-variable|
Currently there is only one option local to a tab page: 'cmdheight'.
The TabLeave and TabEnterautocommand events can be used to do something when
switching from one tab page to another. The exact order depends on what you
are doing. When creating a new tab page this works as if you create a new
window on the same buffer and then edit another buffer. Thus ":tabnew"
triggers:
WinLeave leave current windowTabLeave leave current tab page
TabEnter enter new tab page
WinEnter enter window in new tab page
BufLeave leave current buffer
BufEnter enter new empty buffer
When switching to another tab page the order is:
BufLeaveWinLeaveTabLeaveTabEnterWinEnterBufEnter
==============================================================================
4. Setting 'tabline' *setting-tabline*
The 'tabline' option specifies what the line with tab pages labels looks like.
It is only used when there is no GUItab line.
You can use the 'showtabline' option to specify when you want the line with
tab page labels to appear: never, when there is more than one tab page or
always.
The highlighting of the tab pages line is set with the groups TabLine
TabLineSel and TabLineFill. |hl-TabLine| |hl-TabLineSel| |hl-TabLineFill|
A "+" will be shown for a tab page that has a modified window. The number of
windows in a tabpage is also shown. Thus "3+" means three windows and one of
them has a modified buffer.
The 'tabline' option allows you to define your preferred way to tab pages
labels. This isn't easy, thus an example will be given here.
For basics see the 'statusline' option. The same items can be used in the
'tabline' option. Additionally, the |tabpagebuflist()|, |tabpagenr()| and
|tabpagewinnr()| functions are useful.
Since the number of tab labels will vary, you need to use an expression for
the whole option. Something like:
:set tabline=%!MyTabLine()
Then define the MyTabLine() function to list all the tab pages labels. A
convenient method is to split it in two parts: First go over all the tab
pages and define labels for them. Then get the label for each tab page.
function MyTabLine() let s = '' for i in range(tabpagenr('$')) " select the highlighting if i + 1 == tabpagenr() let s .= '%#TabLineSel#' else let s .= '%#TabLine#' endif " set the tab page number (for mouse clicks) let s .= '%' . (i + 1) . 'T' " the label is made by MyTabLabel() let s .= ' %{MyTabLabel(' . (i + 1) . ')} ' endfor " after the last tab fill with TabLineFill and reset tab page nr let s .= '%#TabLineFill#%T' " right-align the label to close the current tab page if tabpagenr('$') > 1 let s .= '%=%#TabLine#%999Xclose' endif return s endfunction
Now the MyTabLabel() function is called for each tab page to get its label.
function MyTabLabel(n) let buflist = tabpagebuflist(a:n) let winnr = tabpagewinnr(a:n) return bufname(buflist[winnr - 1]) endfunction
This is just a simplistic example that results in a tab pages line that
resembles the default, but without adding a + for a modified buffer or
truncating the names. You will want to reduce the width of labels in a
clever way when there is not enough room. Check the 'columns' option for the
space available.
==============================================================================
5. Setting 'guitablabel' *setting-guitablabel*
When the GUItab pages line is displayed, 'guitablabel' can be used to
specify the label to display for each tab page. Unlike 'tabline', which
specifies the whole tab pages line at once, 'guitablabel' is used for each
label separately.
'guitabtooltip' is very similar and is used for the tooltip of the same label.
This only appears when the mouse pointer hovers over the label, thus it
usually is longer. Only supported on some systems though.
See the 'statusline' option for the format of the value.
The "%N" item can be used for the current tab page number. The |v:lnum|
variable is also set to this number when the option is evaluated.
The items that use a file name refer to the current window of the tab page.
Note that syntax highlighting is not used for the option. The %T and %X
items are also ignored.
A simple example that puts the tab page number and the buffer name in the
label:
:set guitablabel=%N\ %f
An example that resembles the default 'guitablabel': Show the number of
windows in the tab page and a '+' if there is a modified buffer:
function GuiTabLabel() let label = '' let bufnrlist = tabpagebuflist(v:lnum) " Add '+' if one of the buffers in the tab page is modified for bufnr in bufnrlist if getbufvar(bufnr, "&modified") let label = '+' break endif endfor " Append the number of windows in the tab page if more than one let wincount = tabpagewinnr(v:lnum, '$') if wincount > 1 let label .= wincount endif if label != '' let label .= ' ' endif " Append the buffer name return label . bufname(bufnrlist[tabpagewinnr(v:lnum) - 1]) endfunction set guitablabel=%{GuiTabLabel()}
Note that the function must be defined before setting the option, otherwise
you get an error message for the function not being known.
If you want to fall back to the default label, return an empty string.
If you want to show something specific for a tab page, you might want to use a
tab page local variable. |t:var|
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